


It's All About the Crabs

by teiidae



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: 2009 is calling and it wants its otp back, Beach time, Emotional Baggage, M/M, Post-Canon, Soft Boys, therapeutic exercises proven to work by science
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2019-06-09
Packaged: 2020-04-23 16:38:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19154905
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/teiidae/pseuds/teiidae
Summary: Ienzo is a lot like a pirate. He spends a majority of his free time obsessing over golden doubloons and rarely acknowledges his past misgivings because what does an eight-year-old even know about emotional maturity? What does a twelve-year-old husk know about what it's like to be human? What does a twenty-year-old man do with his vacation when he never had a childhood? What happens when there's enough room to breathe? A surprising number of crabs seems to be the key to mutual understanding.





	It's All About the Crabs

Sleep was hard.

Sleep had always been hard, but it seemed that now more than ever, the peaceful catacombs of slumber only served as a pathway for nightmares and manifestations of the subconscious to infect the resting in the worst ways. Zexion had never dreamed because he had never slept. It had been something that he had long since given up on, considering the invitation of dreams had been just another way to waste time. Ienzo had to sleep because humans required it to function, but it never went well.

Ienzo never slept well and it bothered him.

It was the middle of the night when he woke up covered in cold sweat, sitting up in bed with his arms outstretched, fingertips crackling with magic that extinguished as soon as he came back into himself fully. His dusty blue hair was slick against his forehead and his normally crystalline blue eyes were glazed over in a ghostly white, though he blinked and they returned to swirling storms as he looked himself over. He seemed to be in one piece so far. Outside of his soaked sheets, everything else was normal.

The walls of his room felt cramped and, to him, they appeared a blotchy white lined by ebbing black and purple magic. The sconces and moldings were familiar in their design. The walls of Castle Oblivion. The basement levels where he had spent most of his time previously.

Ienzo didn’t move from his position. He used magic in his dreams because it was the only thing he really knew. He used magic in his dreams because when he was scared, he didn’t default to Ienzo’s rationale. He couldn’t. It wasn’t possible for him. He could only draw upon his most recent memories. Memories of a man much colder and much meaner than he.

Zexion had been around a lot longer after all.

Zexion choked against the hollow of Ienzo’s neck and Ienzo didn’t know what to do. He felt bubbles of fear form in his chest, but he couldn’t run even if he wanted to. He couldn’t escape because he didn’t know how. Slowly, Ienzo brought himself to an awkward center. It wasn’t perfect, but it was something. Into the box. Everything was supposed to go into the box so he could deal with it later, just like Ansem had explained.

His magic still rumbled through him, begging to be used to gloss over the unpleasantries. He never paid it much mind these days, as it wasn’t strange for humans to do magic, but this felt different. Like an uncontrollable surge that cried for release. Ienzo briefly wondered what this would have meant for him if he had been trained properly, but that had to go into the box as well. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths.

They were sporadically placed and the counting was off. He was stoppered up and he didn’t like it. It lasted for hours, but there was nothing he could do about that. Not right now.

Despite his count being off, he was able to remember how to do the rest of this through his groggy haze. He kept his eyes closed and envisioned a box. Heavy and made of water-warped wood with a thick layer of sandy crust along the bottom half of the bulk of the trunk. It looked like it was full of treasure, a pirate’s chest made real. He felt the heavy wood settle in his lap, accompanied by the saltiness of the air and the sound of crashing waves. His magic bled through his hands and tiny crabs scuttled across his blankets and sheets and flopped into the ocean beneath his bed. This felt calm, despite it being so wrong.

The lock that bound the cast iron plates together had a similarly colored cast iron key that felt too light and stung when touched. There were pockmarks from years of abuse along the iron accents and Ienzo fiddled with the key for a few minutes before the lock popped off and the latch clicked open. The air in his lungs hitched in his throat and Zexion breathed through him again. There were fangs in his neck, but he was safe now. He knew he was even if that didn’t stop his chest from heaving and his eyes from watering. Zexion wasn’t who he was anymore.

Ienzo knew this.

He knew this as he threw the lid open and he lamented at the number of sparkling gold coins that stared back at him. They wanted to be dealt with, they  _ needed _ to be dealt with. Ienzo knew this.

Despite the bleeding magic from the palms of his hands, clammy and covered in sand, Ienzo focused as much energy as he could spare into his palms. Castle Oblivion, Axel’s acidic green eyes, Riku Replica’s cold hands. They all filtered away and spun into golden doubloons stamped with the fanciful words of a faraway land. They plinked into the chest one by one, and Ienzo promised each one that he would deal with them later. They sparkled back at him, expectant, and his eyes burned with the effort to not cry. He couldn’t lose his composure now. The exercise wouldn’t work if he didn’t keep himself pulled together throughout the whole ordeal.

He closed the chest lid with a dull thunk and the latch readjusted itself. The lock slid into place and Ienzo locked it tightly with the cast iron key before the dark wood disappeared and the heavyweight was off his lap. His hands were still clammy as he wiggled his fingers and toes to bring feeling back to them. To make the illusions go away without painting the halls a different color.

The waters receded. The crabs vanished, the white walls of Castle Oblivion sank away, and Ienzo was in complete darkness once more, eyes closed in concentration. When the final breath left him, he didn’t feel much better, but he didn’t feel worse, which Ansem was quick to point out as a net positive. Ienzo wished he could talk to Ansem, but he feared being blamed for not knowing better again. For failing to keep Zexion at bay again.

For failing his humanity again.

It felt deeply wrong to have such an expectation placed on him even though he’d never had the opportunity to understand emotions. It felt deeply wrong to be expected to have understood the intentions of the adults in his life at that time. It made him ripple with an unpleasant sensation just under the skin.

But he was an adult now. He wasn’t supposed to be upset by childish things.

When Ienzo flopped back onto his pillows, they were icy cold. He tossed and turned in place, trying to find comfort in the uncomfortable. He kept his eyes closed because he had read somewhere that staying still with eyes closed helped the body fall asleep faster. Three hours passed and nothing changed, so when the sun rose and the light filtered through his curtains, he got out of bed, ignoring the creeping feeling of the ocean on his heels and he got ready for another day of research. Another day of work to put things in the right place. Another day to hopefully make a difference.

One that mattered.

\---

Breakfast was simple.

Dilan liked to cook to make his bad thoughts settle down until he could process them in the safety of the evening. He didn’t talk much these days. He never really spoke much before his time in the Organization either and when Ienzo was a child, he had not minded it as much. But now he had so much to say and he didn’t know where to start. He exchanged formalities automatically, habitually. There was no real meaning behind the words that came out of his mouth, but he desperately wanted there to be. He wanted them to ask him what was wrong so he could say nothing and make it true.

He wanted them to needle at him to make him tell the truth because he wanted them to know that he was feeling so much and didn’t have the words to explain it. Did they have the same problem? Did they also struggle with words?

They couldn’t have. They had lost their hearts when they had been adults. It felt different. Ienzo didn’t have the words but it felt different. He looked into their eyes and he could see that they were just as hurt - albeit in a different way - but they were dealing with it as adults should. They made it look so effortless and Ienzo knew how hard they were trying.

Perhaps, even, he was more aware than anybody really gave him credit for. Maybe because they had more experience with such matters, whereas Ienzo had none. Prior to losing his heart, he’d experienced a trauma he hadn’t understood. A trauma he had never really processed.

Aeleus and Dilan never saw him, but Ienzo could tell Dilan was particularly upset when he was pacing in the library where he thought no one would see him. He spent many hours doing just that, and Ienzo stayed invisible for the whole time, pacing as well because if it worked for Dilan, it would work for him. It ultimately ended up being fruitless, but Ienzo tried many many times to make it work. He never got the courage to ask about what Dilan felt because Ienzo wasn’t sure if Dilan could explain it in a way that made sense. And Aeleus was even more nonverbal than ever before. Ienzo rarely got more than a word or two out of him before Aeleus moved on, though he could see that Aeleus desperately wanted to express more.

He just  _ couldn't _ .

When Ienzo had perfectly seared toast with an over-easy egg placed in front of him, he muttered his thanks into a glass of orange juice and spent a few minutes reading the papers that Ansem had delivered daily. It made Ienzo feel like an adult, but not for long because the words were boring, and Ienzo imagined something much more exciting before Aeleus grunted at him to make sure he ate his food.

“What’s on the agenda for today?” Ienzo asked, a smile spread across his lips. Adults were supposed to talk about their days, weren’t they?

Dilan and Aeleus shared a look at each other before shrugging. That meant the same as usual. Guard duties. Whatever Ansem asked of them. There wasn’t much more to glean from that, but Ienzo wanted to keep talking. He had so many things to say.

“I was thinking that we should do something tonight when all of our tasks are done. I don’t have too many things on my plate today.”

This earned him a couple of raised eyebrows. Unusually talkative, huh?

His cheeks grew pink, suddenly nervous at being stared at. He fiddled with the purple ascot at his neck. “Like spend time doing something that will help us feel more like our old selves!” There was an almost wonderous pride laced in his voice. This was the best idea he’d ever come up with and even though, objectively, it sounded tame, there was a budding in his heart that filled him with joy.

This would work, he assured himself. This was what would make him stop dreaming of childish things like pirates and adventures and all the doubloons in the chest.

“That sounds like a wonderful idea, Ienzo.”

Ienzo looked up halfway into his breakfast to see Ansem stride in. He looked tired. More than tired and Ienzo felt a nugget of guilt blossom within him. Ansem didn’t look like he wanted to really partake in fun activities. His face was reminiscent of a man with many regrets and many more curiosities and Ienzo felt instantly like a bother. He wasn’t sure why, since he could recognize kindness when he saw it.

“If you’re busy--”

“Nonsense,” Ansem said. He sounded stern, but the twinkle in his eye was warm and inviting and Ienzo experienced a wide range of emotions before they snuffed out. “It would be an excellent way to relax. You deserve some time to rest as well.”

There was a long pause as Dilan and Aeleus looked at each other before glancing at Ienzo and Ansem, eyebrows raised higher. They sensed it wafting off of Ienzo, and they were struggling to find the right words to describe their concern. Ienzo could see it flashing across them and he withered a little bit. It was hard for him to look at them the same. They had been his family at one point. Even going so far as to call them his group of parents. But now their relationship was ambiguous.

They hadn’t been parents for over ten years. They weren’t colleagues or friends either. It was complicated. Nuanced and sticky and Ienzo was the first to notice it and was also the first to drop another handful of doubloons in his chest at night when nobody else was awake.

“Where would you like to go?” Ansem asked, that twinkle still present.

“I, uh, I didn’t think that far ahead,” Ienzo offered meekly.

He had already decided eons ago, but social behavior was hard to decipher now. Even more so as he grappled with childish wisdom sitting in the lap of an intelligent adult. Ienzo wasn’t sure which to consult. The child wasn’t him. It had been at one point but now wasn’t. It was prone to making emotional decisions that made no sense and couldn’t explain what was driving it forward. It was the one who wanted to dig in the sand and play with the crabs and turn over all the rocks and swim farther out to sea than what would have been considered safe.

The adult was Zexion, who had been absorbing information for twelve years in studious silence. Zexion knew what crabs were and how they acted, he knew what lay beyond the horizon, he knew that there was no treasure in the sand. That there was no such thing as adventure. He knew that he was supposed to act a certain way. Neither understood the other. The disconnection in their abilities to understand the world was irreparable.

Adult Ienzo wanted to try anyway.

“The beach sounds nice,” he said, uncertain. Ansem didn’t question him but Ienzo saw the realizations knit themselves together in Ansem’s eyes. He knew about the magic.

“Then that is what I’ll arrange,” Ansem replied. “The beach is a good place to find peace. We cannot go tonight, for we would need to prepare, but soon. Please understand if my duties prevent me from joining you.”

Ienzo wasn’t exactly looking for peace so much as a place where he could figure out some things. Maybe ask some questions without the pressure of the world around him choking him more than Zexion already did. Maybe he could scream as loud as he wanted to and nobody would hear him if he was far enough away from the shore. He could have time to be himself without having to worry about the other, more perverted version of him that had been around longer. He could be Ienzo and not Ienzo as remembered by Zexion.

Ienzo picked at the running yolk softening his bread and lost his appetite, not because he was nervous, but because a well of excitement surged through him and a small smile crept up on him. The rare dimples shone through the almost empty feeling that rooted deep within him. He couldn’t wait.

\---

Ienzo was ready to go the second the light of dawn filtered through his curtains. Sleep was difficult for him anyway, so he welcomed the rays quietly and prepared for the day at the beach. Ansem promised to go with them all if he was available, and Ienzo felt a sickly disappointment despite his optimism. His family, no matter how fractured it may be, was going to have a good time at the beach because they deserved it. They were going to have one moment of bonding before they were swept back up in the constant atonement for their crimes.

Ienzo packed a bag with towels, sandals, and sunscreen, folding everything together neatly to give himself time to think. What was he going to do? He wasn’t totally sure but he wanted to find some crabs, he thought, and watch them dance into the ocean. He wanted to gather seashells and hear if the ocean really lived inside of them. He wanted to build a sand castle and crush it under his feet before beginning an even better, more appropriate castle for his crabby subjects. He wanted to do all these things despite Zexion scowling at him and chastising him for wanting childish things. Mundane things that didn’t matter.

The first thing Ienzo saw when he arrived for breakfast was Dilan and Aeleus packing a single basket. They looked like they had been up all night, but they had easy expressions. Calm and collected as usual, though Ienzo could see that they were also excited in their own ways. Aeleus had an additional bag filled with something, but when Ienzo tried to take a peek, Aeleus warded him away with a plate of food and a glass of orange juice. Ienzo would just have to wait, and he made his disappointment known with a few hand gestures that came naturally to him.

It had occurred to him last night that if he was going to lean into his human life again, he had to remember the old habits he had had. Zexion had tried to stifle them, but Ienzo was stronger than that. And it both surprised and relieved him when he had let his hands move naturally and words were conveyed. The need to speak verbally withered away a little but Dilan and Aeleus returned conversation much more easily now with gestures of their own.

They didn’t need to talk to understand each other. This felt normal. This felt right. Suddenly, Ienzo’s frame of mind shifted a little more, and for one moment, he felt as though he was with some of his many dads. He was eight years old and he was with his family and they were genuinely happy for a few moments at least. Ienzo’s eyes watered and he cried silently even though he wasn’t sure why and when Dilan and Aeleus grew alarmed, Ienzo just let it happen because it was okay. This was normal.

The trip to the sandy shores was not a terribly long one. They went by way of Twilight Town, one of the few places Ansem the Wise allowed travel between, primarily because Roxas, Xion, and Namine chose to live there and they had to come around often for healthcare. The train station was just as gorgeous as it always had been, but with human emotions and childish whimsy brewing under the surface, Ienzo was much more impressed by it. The way the clock tower jutted out of the central building, the early morning sun glistening off the bells. It was boring and captivating at the same time. The bells chimed softly despite being so large, and birds fled from the highest turrets of the tower, disturbed.

The ticket counter felt magical and Aeleus handed Ienzo the munny required to pay. Ienzo didn’t know why he felt special when he dropped the munny in the teller’s hand and received four tickets in return. He wasn’t sure why he felt so confident when he handed a ticket to Aeleus, Dilan, and Vexen one by one. But it felt empowering in a way.

The train was thankfully empty even after a few minutes in the station. Ienzo was allowed to pick the seats and he chose the ones with the most window space. It made him feel more observant. He’d see the beach before anybody else, and it was hard for him to hide his delight. His hands were moving constantly, prattling off a thousand details and everything that occurred to him. Dilan and Aeleus responded in kind, pleased to see him so animated. So lively. Vexen did not move his hands, but Ienzo was okay with that. Vexen was dealing with a second recompletion and his emotions sometimes vacated for a few hours.

As the train pulled out of the station, Ienzo pressed his face to the window of the train, jittering with excitement. Not too much, not enough for it to be socially unacceptable, but enough that the brightness of his smile infected Dilan and Aeleus, and even Vexen, who offered a whisper of happiness in return before defaulting to a vacant frown.

Ienzo’s signing slowed down as he recognized that Aeleus and Dilan were nodding off to the sway of the train. They tried to keep their eyes open, but they were older and more tired and human, and Ienzo understood. So he started talking.

And he didn’t stop.

Even when the two of them nodded off completely and started snoring, Ienzo didn’t stop. Vexen rarely responded, but he made sure to automatically make a sound of affirmation because even though he could not feel that Ienzo needed reassurance, he knew Ienzo well and remembered his mannerisms. Some of them were subtler now, but they were still there.

Vexen couldn’t be sure why he came with them in the first place. Ienzo's subtle begging fell on indifferent ears, but Vexen knew that in the future he would be glad he had. When he had his heart back again, he would be glad that he hadn't been left behind. He'd be glad that Ienzo still considered them a cohesive unit, even if it was somewhat tarnished now.

The train took forever. Ienzo went from contemplative silence to excited talking, to moping boredom and even to uncharacteristic pouting. It took too long to get anywhere, and it only took a stern look from Dilan before Ienzo simmered down and took one short nap almost directly before they arrived at the beach. The station was ostensibly right by the beginnings of a small boardwalk, where a couple of small shops sat in relative silence. They had traveled very far to get here and Ienzo’s breath was stolen from his lungs as he was confronted with miles and miles of endless sand and water in every direction.

The train pulled away as he landed on the stone slab that counted for a train stop, and the ocean wind whipped at his face. The salty air felt familiar. His magic leaked through his fingertips as Aeleus nudged him and offered a wide-brimmed sun hat and some sunglasses. Dilan had already put his on and Ienzo realized that they all matched.

He wore his hat and sunglasses without complaint, though when Dilan took his bag and nodded towards the ocean, Ienzo didn’t need to be told twice. He headed towards the waves, feet sinking into the warm sand and it wasn’t long before he broke into a run, his heart filling him with the feeling of flight. His magic was uncontrollable. The sky colored with swirls of blue and white paint, the sand smeared of yellow and orange. The water was the wrong color of blue, but it was fine because Ienzo was letting himself feel and the illusions were temporary.

The air filled with laughter and Dilan and Aeleus made their way to the prime real estate, keeping a passing eye open as they lay out the beach towels and umbrellas. Ienzo’s joy was all that mattered now.

The painterly mask filtered away after an hour. Ienzo had been soaking in the sun and splashing in the ocean the whole time, well within his element. This innocent wonderment seemed to leak out of him. He was happy. He was feeling. He was going to be okay.

Ienzo strayed away from the bunched beach umbrellas, a single bucket and shovel in hand. The breaking surf washed over his bare feet, erasing his footprints and bringing peace to his clouded mind. The static subsided a little, and the sinister blankness of Zexion’s stare faded away. For a moment, Ienzo was truly normal.

He set his bucket down and began digging. He didn't think too hard about what he was doing at first, for artistry took time and effort, but mostly instinct. He just let the wet sand move across his hands, squeezing and rolling it and tossing it to the side as he dug a trench on the beach. The throaty cries of the seagulls in the distance was calming almost to the point of sleepiness. He formed a mound on the island he created and jabbed at it quietly, building turrets and hallways, arches and windows, and platforms. Lots and lots of platforms.

A shadow loomed over him for a long while, but his focus was on his castle, which began to resemble home. There was a sick sense of nostalgia that sank into his gut. He didn't deserve to feel that nostalgia, but it was still there. And it wasn't until the looming shadow cleared its throat that Ienzo looked up.

“Demyx?” Ienzo said, almost at a loss for words. “What are you doing here?”

Demyx shrugged. He was tanned from the sun, almost burned, but he looked at rest. Surprised, but at rest. “I’m a little more interested in why you’re out here all alone. I didn’t take you for the vacationing type. Uh, no offense or anything.”

Ienzo perked up, motioning to the cluster of umbrellas and beach towels. “Oh, I’m not alone. Dilan, Aeleus, and Vexen are over there.”

Demyx squinted in the direction Ienzo motioned but saw no one. He noticed the crackling under the sand crusted on Ienzo’s hands. His magic was acting up again. Demyx didn't mention it right away. He assumed that if Ienzo was telling him that he wasn't alone, then it must have been true. Still, an inkling of concern filtered through him. Zexion had been always on top of himself, and Demyx had assumed that Ienzo would have been the same way. Maybe happier and able to fully feel emotion, but still in control. It seemed wrong for there to be illusions scattering so freely.

He squatted in the sands to hunker down. Ienzo was, at first, confused, but then he remembered that Demyx had always had this quirky nature about him, even when they had been Nobodies for the first time. The sand castle was immaculately plain, but there were fine details that showed that Ienzo hadn't totally let his adult responsibilities go. There was an air of perfection that lurked beneath the surface.

“What are you doing?” Demyx asked innocently. He found himself subconsciously trying to fix his hair. It was full of sand and bits of seashell and his yellow eyes were a little intense as he stared perhaps a little too closely at Ienzo’s castle.

Ienzo’s nose and cheeks reddened a little bit. “I’m building a sand castle. For the...crabs. I’m not really sure why--”

Demyx’s eyebrows rose. “Crabs? Sounds cool to me! I really like this, uh, this...hole?”

Ienzo’s gaze fell and his voice softened. “It’s supposed to be a moat. Does it not look--”

“Sweet moat,” Demyx added without a second thought. “Are you going to put water in it?”

“Yes! I will, but I have to find some crabs first,” Ienzo replied excitedly. His voice trailed off, suddenly shy. “Do you want to--”

“Sure,” Demyx answered instantly. “I mean, I commune with the crabs, and we’re supposed to be catching up, right? Having the ol’ bro-down? The gossip, you know?”

Ienzo remained patient and grabbed his bucket. “We’ll see. Then let’s go. They normally come out only at night, but--”

"Can't you trick the crabs into thinking it's night?" Demyx offered. "You still have your powers, yeah? Totally rad, by the way."

"You saw that?" Ienzo said, hiding his face as he sank into shame. "It was a loss of control--"

"Seemed pretty controlled to me. You've always had a level head." He dug his finger in his ear. "And it was pretty. Like a finger painting."

Ienzo fell silent. He wasn't too keen on spending time with Demyx right now. Ienzo had been mostly to himself, working out his feelings and allowing himself to think about why he worried so much. Why he was so tethered to Zexion and if Zexion was a person now or not. Crab subjects and a kingdom and pirates and treasure. It had all been a wild soup of whimsy, malice, and melancholy. A confusing mess but Ienzo had been slowly picking through it. Some of his conclusions warranted further investigation…

Demyx followed him, watching carefully as Ienzo traversed the shoreline. He hadn't expected Ienzo to be so soft-spoken outside of the labs. He'd seen him when he was in his element and now that they were alone - well Aeleus and Dilan and Vexen were supposedly around as well - Ienzo seemed so much more sheepish. Nothing like Zexion at all. Why was he so quiet?

"I can lure them out if you want," Demyx said. Ienzo didn't reply. "Like Arpeggio can be very persuasive when it wants."

Ienzo shook his head. He wanted to get the crabs himself. He didn't need help for this. He was an adult. He could do this. Demyx let the conversation die, a creeping heat rising in his cheeks. Ienzo was so quiet. He wanted to be lectured now. He needed to be. Zexion used to talk so much about the things that interested him. Or rather, he couldn't be concise when explaining anything. It was normal. Ienzo was so  _ quiet _ .

"Hey, uh, you know that everything is sort of okay now, right?" Demyx asked, begging for a response internally. "Like Xemnas and Xehanort and stuff? They're not around to boss us around. And at first, I thought they'd call me for the fight. I wasn't gonna go, but I thought they would. Still a Nobody and everything, and I found some cool worlds out there, if you wanted to hear about them."

Ienzo shared a glance with him in interest, but still didn't speak. He returned his attention to the shoreline. There was a small rocky outcropping that broke the shoreline in half. There were a couple of deep pools within the rocky outcropping that had small bundles of seaweed and various colorful plants attached to the rocks. They were submerged in water with clusters of budding coral and small crabs scuttling near the edge of the water. Ienzo held a hand up and Demyx stopped in his tracks, keeping his eyes on Ienzo and silencing himself. Apparently, Ienzo wasn't feeling very talkative.

When Demyx had spent enough time not making noise, Ienzo made a quick gesture. While Demyx didn't totally understand, the look on Ienzo's face was clear enough. Stay quiet at the very least. Ienzo climbed onto the rocky outcropping and dipped his bucket into the water, filling it. Demyx watched Ienzo, lips a thin line, and he found himself enjoying Ienzo in a different way. His eyes were alight with curiosity and Demyx's chest seized, his heart beating rapidly and drumming in his ears.

"You have to be quiet, or they will scuttle away and bury themselves in the sand," Ienzo explained, eyes trained on the crabs in the pool. He reached into the water and carefully lifted a crab out, plunking it into his bucket. "And you have to pick them up by their bodies so you don't hurt their claws--"

"Super cool!" Demyx exclaimed, though he quickly covered his mouth in surprise and lowered his voice. "I mean...that's super cool."

Ienzo's lips quirked as he returned his attention to the pool, scooping another crab out and dropping it into his bucket. They fell into silence once more, though Demyx noticed a sort of annoyed huff occasionally escaping Ienzo's lips. Was he upset? Demyx was a Nobody after all. He wasn't supposed to be able to feel but he also was very observant and had honed the skill of gathering as much information as possible without exerting effort. A skill he was oddly proud of.

"Is something bothering you?" Demyx asked. "Like, let me at 'em, man. You're like a friend now, and I know I'm lazy, but I know what's what."

Ienzo's eyes twitched in confusion. "I'm fine--"

"I mean it, Ienzo." Demyx puffed his chest out proudly. "This friend thing ain't so bad after all, so, I'm your guy."

Ienzo merely scooped more crabs into his bucket and added a few handfuls of seaweed as well just for good measure. Demyx tried pulling one out of the pool but he was pinched before he could get a good hold of it and he gave up relatively quickly, hurrying after Ienzo.

"Hey, why don't you talk so much anymore?"

Ienzo looked Demyx up and down, lips turned in a deep frown as if the answer were obvious. When Demyx returned a confused look, Ienzo pursed his lips, annoyance crawling over him again.

"Do you really want to know?"

Demyx nodded vigorously. "Sure do. It's why I asked in the first place, silly."

Ienzo looked down at his bucket. The crabs were stepping over each other calmly and pinching at the seaweed, inspecting it for food and nibbling experimentally. The water rippled violently, but the crabs didn't seem to mind all that much. Ienzo gave it much thought and even continued his way to the sand castle, which had thankfully remained upright.

When Ienzo set his bucket down, he made sure to keep it level as he plucked the crabs out one by one and placed them on the sturdier platforms of sand. He gave each a little bit of seaweed to keep them preoccupied while he placed the rest of them as well.

"It's because nobody lets me finish a thought," Ienzo said quickly, fearing that Demyx would interrupt him again. "Even when I was a child, everybody would talk over me. After a while, I just stopped talking altogether. It was easier that way." There was a very long pause. "And it still seems to be the case."

Demyx immediately felt himself backpedaling. He had been exceptionally rude, hadn't he? Reflecting on it now, he really had interrupted Ienzo nearly every time he spoke so far. He hadn't even realized that he'd been doing it, having been so caught up in his desire to impress the other. The trickles of shame reddened his cheeks and he tried to hide it under indifference. Since Nobodies were supposed to be emotionless. He knew better than that.

"I think at some point, I just accepted that nobody  _ really _ wants to hear what I have to say," Ienzo added. His voice didn't sound upset, but Demyx could see him trying to hold back tears, which was remarkable. "Nobody wants to give me the time I need to think. Not you, not Ansem, nobody. And that's fine, I don't need to play any grand role anymore so it's okay if I just figure everything out myself."

"I'm sorry," Demyx blurted. "I don't know what to say other than that."

Ienzo sighed and the tears rolled down his cheeks and dripped from his chin into the sand. The rest of the crabs had been placed and were each munching away at bits of offered seaweed. Demyx felt awkward now.

"It's fine," Ienzo muttered. "I'm used to it. Or I suppose I should be. I'm still working out the handling of my emotions and it's not as easy as I thought it would be given everything I know about the heart." Ienzo paused, almost checking the temperature of the conversation before assessing whether he wanted to continue. In a way, he did. He had so much to say.

"I fell into darkness as a child and never got the chance to learn how to handle my feelings the correct way. I guess I was tired of not being listened to. I guess that's why it was so easy for me to follow Xehanort.

"He listened to me and that made me feel wanted, I guess. Appreciated in some way." There was another long pause. Ienzo was thinking and Demyx was letting him. Affording him the room to spread out a little bit. "Things are different now. Less complicated, but also more complicated."

Demyx let Ienzo's words hang in the air between them. He noticed that Ienzo's shoulders had relaxed finally, the tension leaving his body and melting under the beautiful sun. He wanted to contribute, but words were hard, especially because he had just literally apologized for using so many to stifle Ienzo's. He wanted to add something though. Something that could compliment Ienzo.

Music.

"You seem stressed out," Demyx offered calmly. "I don't really know if I can say anything that would help, but whenever I am stressed out, I play music. Would you like that?"

Ienzo smiled. "I think that would be nice."

As Demyx stuck his hand out and settled in the sand comfortably, Ienzo moved closer to him, sitting nearly shoulder to shoulder to watch Demyx play. A cooling shadow blanketed them as Aeleus planted a wide beach umbrella over them without a word. Ienzo signed a thank you and sighed wistfully as Demyx began to play.

The melody was like the waves, comforting and powerful. Reeking of personality and equal parts warm and aloof. And Ienzo was captured. For a long time, he just sat there, mesmerized by the sounds coming from Demyx's massive blue instrument. At some point, he dumped the water in the bucket into his moat and the water sank sadly into the sand. Demyx, however, noticed that was well, and strummed his fingers across the strings of his sitar to draw forth a spring of water from the neck of his instrument. The water flowed into the moat and simulated a real current, floating bits of seaweed lazily about. Even some of the crabs jumped into the moat and sank to the bottom to nibble at more of the seaweed.

For hours, the two of them remained like that. Sometimes Demyx would sing, but mostly, he played his melodies and enjoyed Ienzo's company. This felt natural. His heart was growing back, according to Vexen, and it was supposed to take a while, but for those few moments, this was a whole Demyx and a whole Ienzo appreciating each other's faults and strengths. Their quirks and mannerisms. Their habits and charms. Two humans spending an afternoon together.

And when it was over, Demyx was content. Ienzo had leaned against him some time ago and was now fast asleep, curled awkwardly against him with a smile on his face. Aeleus and Dilan arrived to take him back. Demyx suddenly understood them better than ever before. Neither of them spoke as they picked Ienzo up and draped a beach towel over his shoulders. They pulled the umbrella up, folded everything away, tucking them into bags and baskets. Demyx didn't move, but he mimicked the gesture Ienzo had used before and Dilan whispered a short response.

The fractured family departed.

Demyx stayed with the crabs until the sun began to dip below the horizon and paint the water with yellow and orange. The sky was equally yellow, though there were flecks of purple and pink swirling in the clouds. He scooped the crabs up by their bodies so he didn't hurt their claws and let them onto the beach at large. They scuttled away quickly, returning to the ocean, disappearing and, unbeknownst to them all, taking a handful of doubloons with them.

**Author's Note:**

> 11k words and one botched Zemyx day attempt later and it's about crabs...


End file.
